Tag: grocery shopping

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Every Day

This Week’s Shopping and Solving a Dilemma

I hope you all had a good weekend. We spent ours indoors watching the Olympics. With the exception of Hubby snow blowing the 11 and 1/2 inches of snow we got, we never went outside.

Today, I did the weekly shopping. I put my $75.00 in my wallet and spent almost all of it. I spent $72.32. I was totally out of bacon so I picked up some regular and some turkey bacon. I always need to keep breakfast things for our Sunday family breakfasts. I am needing more for this weekend but more about that later. The hash browns are also for this weekend along with the ice cream and Hershey’s syrup.

Our ground turkey was gone. It was on sale but only at 33% off which is not a great price so I only bought 2 lbs. However the sirloin tip roasts were on sale for $ 3.99 a lb. so I purchased one to cut up for stew meat.

I purchased one extra newspaper because there were 3 inserts this week. I always need Half and Half. So I got 2. The Kleenex, oatmeal, veggies, and Kikkoman sauces were great prices after sale and coupons. So they will go in my stockpile. The soy sauce sale was just in time because I only had about 1/2 inch in my last bottle.

I only spent $38.00 last week so I have $ 37.00 that I could spend if I do need something since I have lots of company this coming weekend.

Yes, my son is coming out on a business trip on Friday or Thursday evening depending on the weather. He is bringing my granddaughter and they are staying until Monday. We are so excited. We didn’t think that we would see them for another month or so.

And my grandson is coming at 11AM on Saturday and staying until noon or so on Sunday. That was a previous date that we had on our calendar. So that left us with a bedroom dilemma. We only have three bedrooms. My granddaughter will stay in one and my son in the other spare room. 

My grandson likes to stay up all night talking and my granddaughter likes her sleep. We tried sleeping them in the same room once and that did not work out well.

So my son is bringing my grandson’s air mattress and sleeping bag. But where can we sleep him? We can’t do the great room because we adults will be up in there until midnight. There is no room in our bedroom.

So Hubby and I thought about it and this is what we came up with. We will put him in our office. It’s pictured above. Excuse the mess but Hubby is cleaning it. We will move the writing table over in front of the windows and take the chair out and that will give my grandson a large spot in the middle of the room for his bed. 

However we have French doors on that room and they are not great for the privacy that a young man needs. Remember that large roll of paper that I purchased to wrap presents a long time ago. Well, Hubby cut two large strips of it and taped it over the windows using painter’s tape so that it wouldn’t hurt the paint on the doors. 

All we have left to do is find our extra nightlights to put in that room for him.

He should be very comfortable sleeping in there for one night.

The grandchildren are very excited that they will get to spend time with each other for a day. They don’t see each other very often.

And of course, Grandma has to spoil them while they are here. That is what the ice cream and Hershey’s syrup is for. I will bake some brownies and make brownie sundaes for dessert on Saturday night. We will top them with whipped cream and maraschino cherries. I am also considering ordering pizza and wings for dinner that evening. It will be easy for me and the kids and we adults will love it.       

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Every Day

Rest Of This Week’s Shopping

I won’t bore you with most of the details but here are the rest of the shopping trips that I made on Sunday and Monday.

Sunday’s Tops trip I saved $26.01 and paid OOP $23.41. I also bought a Buffalo News to get another set of inserts. But the News has gone up to $3.00 so I don’t know how often I will do that. They have to be good coupons for things I need. I already saved many more dollars than the cost of the paper on another Top’s trip, Walgreen’s trip and my CVS trip.

This shop was another Top’s trip(2 Palmolive and 4 Almay Eye Makeup removers) where I used $10.00 in coupons and paid OOP $ 13.79. The CVS trip was the rest of the items which I paid $ 1.59 OOP. I used $10.00 in ECB’s and  and Q’s for the Wet n Wild eyeliners, toothpaste and the Gold Emblem snacks. I got $ 8.00 in ECB’s back. The Walgreen’s trip was 2 Elvive Shampoo and Conditioner and the Russell Stover. That total came to $3.95 after Q’s.

Rite Aid was $50.00 from my Other budget for the 2- $25. Domino’s cards which was a bonus cash deal. All candy I posted today is for the grandchildren to put in their cute little  Valentine mailboxes. The candy came to $ 3.46.

Aldi’s was $22.44 OOP. I am getting ready for the Super Bowl. We are also trying 2 different ham products to see which we like better. BTW, the apple sausages are terrific cooked up in a skillet with fresh apples slices and a little cinnamon.

Last shop was Save- A-Lot where I stocked up on 5.87 lbs. of Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts at $ 1.59 a lb. Great price for here. I paid $14.27 for the chicken, 2 lbs. of carrots, a huge cabbage, and 8 lbs. of Russet potatoes. Hubby has asked for corned beef and cabbage this week. Since I have one I bought at rock bottom price last March, he is getting his wish.


I had $ 14.40 left in my grocery budget last week when I added $ 75. on Sunday. I now have $ 6.49 left for the rest of the week. However, I do have a $25. Walmart E-Gift Card that I earned from Ibotta. Since I earned it with groceries rebates, I will use it for groceries. So when I feel better, I will be using that to stock on toilet paper, ground turkey and possibly beef, half and half, etc.

I do have some Ibotta rebates to submit. I think it is like $2.50 that I will get back. 


Our Other budget has $ 63.07 left after being funded for only two weeks. I did not fund it for the week I was in Florida.


I am so glad that I do not have to run out the door today. My cold seems to be getting worse instead of better. It’s in my chest now. Fortunately, I have a check up with my doctor later this week so hopefully he can give me something or tell me what will get rid of it.


I will be back later this week with the Frugal Things We Have Done the past 10 days.

 

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Every Day

Last Spending This Week

I grocery shopped again today and made a stop at Dollar Tree. I won’t spend again until next week.

First, I will tell you about my Dollar Tree haul which is pictured above. I needed a birthday card but I saw these Valentine Mailboxes for my grandchildren. Aren’t they adorable? I just loved them especially since they will get shipped to them. They had these that were bigger and some that were smaller. I will fill them with candy and other small things and then put them in a box and ship them. When I saw them all I could think of was the movie, You’ve Got Mail.

I also picked up three containers that I could use in my organizing. When I spot them I grab them. We have a very small Dollar Tree here so things don’t last long. The Dollar Tree haul comes out of my Other Budget. 

I shopped at Top’s and Aldi for a few things we needed. Top’s total was $ 16.09 and the Aldi total was $ 6.83. So I end this week with $ 14.40 left in my grocery budget which will be rolled into next week. When I shopped the other day for the noodles, they were out of the Pennsylvania Dutch ones. They were $1.59 but I had a Tops Click to Card $ 1.00 Q so they cost $.59. So these will be added to my stockpile for the next time I need to make a family dish. Chips and crackers were requested by Hubby. 

My grandson’s birthday is today. He is 8. We won’t see him because his other grandparents are visiting with him. But if he and his Dad get to come out on Sunday for breakfast, I want to make a brownie cake and have ice cream after as a belated birthday party. The brownie mix and frosting I already had in my stockpile. 


We were out of peanut butter so I picked up a Jif at Top’s and an Aldi’s brand too. The Aldi’s brand was 45% less than the Jif. So we will try it to see if we like it. If so, no more Jif. I picked up another Dannon Light and Fit Zero for smoothies. Also we were totally out of tomato sauce. Since it costs $.29 a can at Aldi’s, it was a no brainer to buy 4 there. 

Is there anything worse than snow almost every day or freezing cold and bundling up when you go out? Yes, when the snowplow takes your mailbox out. That happened to us yesterday just before the mailman came. UGH!  Hubby and I almost froze outside trying to rig the broken mailbox to the  broken post. We managed to salvage part of the box and bungie cord it to the broken post. It is a little lower than normal but I stopped at the P.O. this morning and talked to my mailman who gave me yesterday’s mail. He said it will be fine temporarily until we can put a new one in. He knows we would have to wait for our son to be able to help us.  However, when I asked my son, he told me to call the town offices and they will come out and replace it with a cheap mailbox and post that will get us through to spring when it will be easier to dig and replace it. So I did call the town and they are coming out this afternoon to put the new one in for us.

I have been unpacking and doing laundry and catching up errands and doing what needs to be cleaned around here. I have also been doing some organizing.

Tonight, we feel like having a comfort meal. So I am going to roast a 7 lb. chicken and we will have it with a salad and some broccoli. 

I hope you all have a great weekend. It is supposed to warm up to normal temps here which is very welcome. 

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Every Day

Keeping the Groceries Under Budget

This morning I went to Super Walmart at 7AM to avoid the Saturday crowds. It was rather pleasant to shop with hardly anyone in the store.

We needed ingredients to make a dessert to take to a  Christmas party. I am making this Double Chocolate Mocha Trifle. I had planned on making this 
Peppermint Brownie Trifle. However I could not find the cream cheese pudding mix so I decided to do the other one that I had chosen. Hubby liked that recipe better anyhow.

So for the recipe I purchased:

Brownie Mix – $ 1.28
Heath Toffee Bits – $ 2.38
2 boxes of White Chocolate Pudding – $.98 each
Milk – $ 1.60
Instant Coffee – $1.00

I had all of the other ingredients. 

Yesterday, Hubby was looking for a fresh tube of toothpaste. Do you think we had any? Nope, my stash is gone. Knowing that we only have a little left in a sample tube, I purchased two of the Crest Cinnamon. They were $ 2.97 each. I will be looking for a good sale to stockpile some but these will hold us until I do. 

Hubby still eats a little snack once in a while and some carbs. The only carbs that I eat are in my food that I eat at meals…mainly veggies and meat.  So he asked for tortillas for his lunch wraps. They were $2.14 for a 10 ct. package. The chips will last him for a long time. They were $ 3.98 for the family size. He also drinks Crystal Light Peach Iced Tea. I purchased 2 containers for $ 2.48 each. I spotted a Great Value  SF Peach Iced Tea so I bought him one to try. If he likes that I will buy it from now on because it is cheaper than the Crystal Light. It cost $ 1.98. 

Lastly, I needed eggs to make some baked goods for gifts. I did not want to spend $ 4.98 for organic eggs for that purpose. So I purchased a regular large dozen for $ 1.28. 

I had $ 75.00 set aside in my grocery budget for Dec 1st through the 9th.  I used a $ 1.60 E-Cert GC from the Walmart Savings Catcher program to help defray the cost today. So I paid $ 27.38 for everything. That leaves me $ 47.62 left to spend through December 9th. 

I had ground chuck on my list but it was $ 4.99 a lb. at Walmart. I won’t pay that price unless I get it at my meat market. I will check the ads tomorrow to see if it is on sale anywhere this coming week. If not I will get it at the meat market when I have other errands to run up that way.

My monthly budget now is $ 300. a month for groceries, cleaning supplies, toilet paper, napkins, HBA and Ziplocs or other wraps. Since I divide the $ 300. into 4 week sections of $75.00 a week, it works well for us. I add the few days at the front of the month to the next week and the same thing works for the end of the month.  I like having a smaller amount to work with when I shop. It makes me be wiser with our money and I really think about what I am buying. I ask myself: Do I really need it? Can I substitute something else? Where can I buy it the cheapest? Is it worth my gasoline to run around to a few stores if the price difference is only pennies? 

I also rarely use coupons anymore. Most of the things we buy don’t really have any. I shop mostly at Walmart and Aldi and they have great prices so it is not worth spending a lot of time cutting coupons. If they are at my fingertips on the computer and I can print them quickly then I do. If I have to spend a lot of time searching for one, it isn’t worth my time. Have you changed the way you shop since coupons aren’t as good anymore? Have you changed your budget like I have recently? 

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Every Day

Errand Day

I usually run my errands on Thursday but I did them today since I seem to be a day ahead on everything this week. 

We needed just a few grocery items so I decided that Top’s was the best choice this week. They had bacon( bought 5), turkey pepperoni, yams, and eggs on sale that were all on my buy list. I also picked up a cottage cheese cup with a free store coupon. The lettuce and tomatoes were a necessity. I also purchased a 6 pack of Flying Bison Rusty Chain beer which is not in the picture. The total for all was $ 45.13 including tax and bottle deposits.

My next stop was at Super Walmart to pick up a Christmas gift that I had shipped to the store. I love how easy it is to get a pick up there. I have been doing some of the Christmas shopping already. I need to have it done by Thanksgiving so my family can take it home with them. Shipping has gotten very expensive. 

Then I went to the library which has become a regular stop every 8-9 days. I borrowed 3 more James Patterson books. I am able to read one book in a about 3 – 4 hours depending on interruptions. I am enjoying his Murder Club series but I am reading it backwards. The reason is that the newest books are hard to come by so when I see them, I grab them.

Last stop was the drug store to pick up a prescription for Hubby. That cost us $ 50.00.

Dinner tonight is leftovers from last night. I made spaghetti and meatballs for Hubby. For me I made alfredo sauce with broccoli and chicken. I can’t eat red sauce so this a meal where I really have to cook two different meals. Most times I just eat spaghetti with butter. My leftovers are pictured.